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Stanford on the moon?

Stanford University students now study at satellite campuses in Kyoto, Paris, Moscow and Oxford, among other places. In the future, Stanford may be launching new satellites -- to the moon.

Stanford faculty and NASA are talking about a joint project between the university and space agency that would result in a Stanford presence on the moon by 2015.

Several alumni talked about the project last Friday during the university's homecoming weekend, including Lois Aldrin, class of '51, and her astronaut-husband Buzz.

The idea would be to send small, 4-inch cube satellites to the moon to send back data to help educate future scientists. Professor Bob Twiggs believes those satellites could be sent to the moon as early as 2010.

There is much international interest in the moon. Russia plans to mine the moon's helium-3, China plans to send a manned mission to the moon by 2024 and the United States plans to establish a lunar base by 2030.